Assessing the Socio-Economic Impact of Internet Shutdown in the English Speaking Regions of Cameroon from a Multistakeholder and Multisector Perspective
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ASSESSING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INTERNET SHUTDOWN IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING REGIONS OF CAMEROON FROM A MULTISTAKEHOLDER AND MULTISECTOR PERSPECTIVE “Our country needs generalised Internet access … to be better placed to enter the third millennium.” H.E. Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon By Ngang Eric Ndeh Mboumien, AfroLeadership 2018 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author. About AfroLeadership AfroLeadership is Civil Society think tank at the forefront of promoting open data, civic technologies, Internet rights and citizen participation. AfroLeadership currently has operations and offices across Central Africa. AfroLeadership is a CSO registered in 2010 in Cameroon that encourages the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to promote transparency, accountability and citizen engagement. AfroLeadership aims to bring together civic-minded software developers and citizens to innovate in public services using technology, primarily by creating open source solutions to address the needs of citizens. A partner of the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF), it has been involved in budget transparency projects since its inception with the implementation of an integrated financial management information system in local governments and municipalities in Central Africa. The project was selected in 2015 by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Fiscal Openness Working Group (FOWG) in Mexico, as one of the best fiscal transparency initiative, working for improvement in service delivery for citizens. AfroLeadership is an active member of the CodeforAll movement, an international network of organizations believing that digital technologies when used correctly, can both improve governance and open new channels for citizens to more meaningfully engage in the public sphere and have a positive socio-economic impact on their communities. It is involved in promoting open data, data journalism and data skills in Cameroon and Central Africa, through various training sessions organized for journalists and newsrooms. This are all aimed at building a network of data journalists and data wranglers on the use of open source and free tools (Open Spending, The Atlas, Open Street Map, etc.) to datamine public data and build various analysis and visualizations for a full understanding of government dealings with public funds. AfroLeadership hosts the Cameroon Civic Charter Coalition, a group of campaigners for the publication, dissemination and awareness around rights of citizens to civic participation everywhere, including online and digital participation, as various international instruments acknowledge people’s right and duty to participate in shaping our societies offline and online. In this light AfroLeadership is a member of the Cameroon network of human rights organisations (RECODH), and presides over its Commission for Public Policies, aiming at monitoring the implementation of public policies by the Government. As a member of Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network (TAP-Network) and very much involve in the Cameroon civil society SDG Working Group , AfroLeadership campaigns for SDG 16 to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”. AfroLeadership is the technical secretariat of the Cameroon Coalition for Freedom of Information & Right to Information. This coalition aims at advocating for freedom of information and right to information in Cameroon, with the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act in Cameroon, as well as the ratification or adoption by the Government of international legal instruments and standards promoting such as principles and guides by the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, Open Contracting Data Standards, Open Fiscal Data Package, the African Declaration of Rights and Freedoms of the Internet, the International Open Data Charter, etc. Table of contents LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................................. I LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................................... II LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................................... III I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 II. CONTEXT AND STAKES IN THE ACCESS OF INTERNET IN CAMEROON 1998-2017. .............................. 7 III. ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT ON ICTS AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IN CAMEROON ................................................................................................................................................................. 14 III.1. THE PERIOD 1960-1988......................................................................................................................................... 14 III.2. THE PERIOD 1989-1998......................................................................................................................................... 14 III.3. THE PERIOD 1998 TO DATE ................................................................................................................................... 15 IV. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF THE ACTORS AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE INTERNET ACCESS LANDSCAPE IN CAMEROON .................................................................................................................................... 17 V. ANALYSIS OF THE LEVEL OF CONNECTIVITY AND PERCENT BY DIFFERENT STRATE OF THE POPULATION ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 VI. ESTIMATE OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INTERNET CUTS IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING REGION OF CAMEROON ...................................................................................................................... 26 VI.1. IMPLICATION OF ICT SHUTDOWN ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SECTORS IN CAMEROON ....................................... 27 VI.2. ICT, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SECTOR ........................................................................................................... 27 VI.3. ICT, HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE SECTOR ...................................................................................................... 27 VI.4. ICT, PRODUCTION AND TRADE SECTOR................................................................................................................ 28 VI.5. ICT, CULTURE AND LEISURE SECTOR ................................................................................................................... 29 VII. ESTIMATING THE COST OF INTERNET DISRUPTION IN CAMEROON .............................................. 31 VII.1. ESTIMATING THE IMPACT OF AN INTERNET SHUTDOWN ................................................................................. 32 VII.2. ESTIMATING THE IMPACT OF A SOCIAL MEDIA AND APP SHUTDOWN............................................................. 32 VIII. WHAT IS THE PERSPECTIVE OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF INTERNET CUTS IN THE ANGLOPHONE REGION OF CAMEROON ? ...................................... 35 IX. MIND CHATS .................................................................................................................................................. 39 X. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE INTERNET ACCESS IN CAMEROON AND CONCLUSION ......... 42 XI. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 44 List of tables Table 1: Increase number of Internet shutdowns across the African continent .............................. 5 Table 2 : Comparative analysis of investments in the ICT sector in Cameroon with that of three other African countries ....................................................................................................................... 10 Table 3: Summary of the main public and private sector stakeholders in Cameroon’s telecommunication and ICT industry ................................................................................................ 17 Table 4: Cost of voice/Internet connections and interconnections in Cameroon, 2002-2016 ....... 21 Table 5: Statistics on Internet users and percent penetration vis-à-vis the population 2014-2016 ............................................................................................................................................................... 23 Table 6: Comparison of Telecommunication Indicators in Cameroon, Africa, and World ......... 25 Table 7: Regional distribution of MCTs, Telecentres and Digital Access points in Cameroon ... 26 h ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 Table 9: Third quarter statistics in the hotel sector in the North West in 2017 ............................ 29 Table 10: Revenue in the hotel sector in the first half of 2016 in the North West region ............. 30 Table 11: Revenue in the hotel sector